There Are Two Big Votes Today That Will Tell You About The State Of America

There are two ballot initiatives being voted on today that will
give us an idea of the nation's political mood one year out from
next year's elections. And both have far-reaching consequences.
Here's what you need to know.

The Mississippi Personhood
Amendment

Tomorrow Mississippians could vote to outlaw almost all abortions
and some forms of birth-control. Here is how the text of the
ballot initiative reads:

Should the term 'person' be defined to include every human
being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the
equivalent thereof?

The text is very simple, but the consequences could be
immense.

Not only would the Personhood Amendment outlaw all abortions,
directly challenging Roe v. Wade, it might
also outlaw certain drugs sold as birth-control that can act as
abortifacients - that includes RU-486 and IUDs.The law would also
require couples and their doctors to be responsible for
maintaining the life of all embryos created during in vitro
fertilization.

Longtime pro-life groups like National Right to Life and the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops are very wary of this Personhood
amendment, fearing that if it comes before the Supreme Court, a
pro-Roe majority will rule that unborn children are not
legal persons. A ruling like that could could jeopardize some pf
the success pro-lifers have had in restricting access to abortion
over the past two decades through mandatory waiting periods and
parantal notification laws.

Supporters of the Personhood Amendment have argued that the
incremental approach of other pro-life groups is an insufficient
response to the injustice of abortion. Instead they wish to
confront Roe directly.

Polling has been against the personhood amendment passing, but as
the campaign draws to a close things have gotten
very tight. Public Policy Polls says that 45 percent of
voters now support it, 44 oppose it.

AP

The Ohio Public Unions Law

Over in Ohio, Governor John Kasich's reforms to public-sector
unions are coming to a popular vote, it's called Senate Bill 5
(SB-5)

SB-5 would strip public sector unions of their ability to
collectively bargain for their benefits, restricting them only to
salary.

It would require all public employees to contribute 15 percent to
their health-insurnace premiums.

Unlike other states that have tried to reform public pensions,
the Ohio measure law does not exempt police, firefighters, or
teachers.

Proponents say the bill could save the state as much as $1.3
billion, mostly out of changes to scheduled pay-raises and the
demand that public-sector employees contribute to their health
premiums. Opponents say this will weaken Ohio's
middle-class.

This bill is being hotly watched by national conservative groups
who believe that breaking the power of public unions will weaken
Democrat political operations for a generation, while saving tax
payers billions. Kasich has gone further out on the limb than New
Jersey's Chris
Christie in taking on public-sector unions.

Polling on SB5 however
suggests that Kasich is going to be harshly rebuked.
Taxpayers
may be angry at state spending, but they aren't willing to
balance the books by cutting benefits for firefighters.